


quicksand

by caimani



Series: lucky people, you and me [5]
Category: Waterparks (Band)
Genre: Magic, Multi, Parallel Universes, Warped Tour, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-27 04:06:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18296504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caimani/pseuds/caimani
Summary: Geoff, Awsten, and Otto find themselves in a strange new world: a place with more technology than magic, and where the three of them are in a music band together.





	quicksand

**Author's Note:**

> yea boi, this au's gonna take a fun turn now :3

Geoff leans against the metal fence, watching the performers on the distant stage with a strangely heavy feeling in his chest. They look like they’re happy, and the crowd of people— so many more people than Geoff’s ever seen in one place before— are all singing along to the words and jumping. It’s amazing how much positive energy is in this place.

And yet… Geoff still feels a weight of sadness in his heart.

“Is this what our world’s future will be like?” Otto’s asking beside him.

“No!” Awsten says, his voice faintly buzzing with barely restrained magical energy. He keeps messing with his disguise and fidgeting. “I don’t know. Maybe. Our time is different. But our universe is different too. I don’t know.”

“It’s loud,” Otto says. “I kinda like it.”

It’s way different than their quiet life in the forest, Geoff thinks. He looks around this place again: a place packed with people and noise and things they’ve never seen and music they’ve never heard before. Strange foods and smoke and hot black stone beneath his feet and not enough green life but so much life nonetheless.

“It’s kinda sad,” Geoff says, looking back at the musicians on the stage. “That they’re not together like we are.”

“They’re happy, though,” Otto says. “I mean, the other you and the other me. Not the other—”

“The other Awsten is nothing like me,” Awsten huffs. “He’s human. Barely any magic in him.”

“Enough magic to pull us all into this world, though,” Otto points out. 

Beneath the tinted lenses, Awsten’s eyes glow blue-green. Geoff reaches out to hold him and calm him down. “That was love magic with very strong intent.”

“He’s lonely,” Geoff says, casting another sad glance at the Awsten on the stage. “All these people who love him and he’s lonely.” He sighs. 

The Awsten on the stage finishes his song and jokes with the audience, still talking with the thing that makes his voice loud enough to be heard by all. The people all scream and cheer for him. For a second— maybe Geoff imagines it— but it feels like the other Awsten looks back at the rear fence, at them. 

“We should talk to them,” Otto says.

“No!” Awsten says. 

“How else are we going to figure out how to get back to our universe?” Otto says. “We’ve been following them for days. We haven’t found out anything. We need to try and talk to them and ask them—”

“They won’t know anything,” Awsten says. “That love magic was messy. Terribly executed. It took a lot of my power to keep us stable. We need a better solution to get back.”

“I want to talk to them,” Geoff says, his voice barely audible as this world’s versions of them start playing another song. “I want to meet them.”

“That’s such a bad idea,” Awsten groans. “I don’t know anything about traveling between universes, but coming in contact with the alternate version of yourself—”

“Well, we’ve already seen them,” Otto interjects. “It can’t be that bad, them seeing us. If we can see them, they should be able to see us, right?”

Awsten’s eyes burn blue-green again. Geoff pulls both of him and Otto close, and he feels the tension bleed out of them both. 

Awsten slumps into Geoff and sighs. “Fine. But it’ll probably be hard getting close without anyone else seeing us and confusing us for them. Or asking why we look like them.”

They’d had a few close calls since they arrived in this world— people mistaking them for ‘water parks’, forcing them to put together hasty disguises and sneak around the crowds. Thankfully they arrived in the middle of this… festival, and they just had to hide themselves inside the cavernous and noisy things called trucks by nightfall.

“We’ll figure it out,” Geoff says, patting him comfortingly on the back. “We’re witches. And a will-of-the-wisp.”

~~~

Geoff finds that it turns out to be much easier than Awsten predicted. They wait until the other versions of them have left the stage, and then wander around for a while, trying to find another way to the buses (so the impossibly fast, impossibly large, horseless carriages that pour out foul-smelling smoke are called). A young woman with a badge calls out to them, calling them by their names, and waves them over to a roped-off area.

“Where’s your manager?” she asks them as she waves them past. “It’s kinda ballsy wandering around without any security.”

“I’m all the security we need,” Awsten says before Geoff can shush him. 

The woman laughs and shakes her head. “Yeah, sure. Don’t forget your badges next time. Not all the staff here will recognize you.”

“Thank you, my lady,” Geoff says, bowing gratefully at her. 

She laughs again, covering her face with her hand.

It does take them a while to find the bus that has the other versions of them. Geoff can see signs on the buses, but none of them can read and there are too many people around for Awsten to change into his will-of-the-wisp shape to speed up the search. So they just have to wander through the rows of buses and hope. Geoff is still amazed at just how many there are. This universe truly is unbelievable. So many people, so many impossible things. 

“Wha— Awsten? Is that— Geoff? Otto?”

They stop to see Jawn— no, this universe’s version of him. They’ve seen him close around the other Awsten, Geoff, and Otto these past few days. He’s holding something shiny and black in his hands— Geoff would love to ask him what it is, but now probably isn’t the time.

“Hello,” Awsten says, moving in front of Otto and Geoff.

Jawn looks so confused. “Did you… how did you change your hair so fast? I literally just saw you like five minutes— Is that a wig?”

“You just saw us?” Geoff says, moving forwards to stand beside Awsten. “Where? We—”

“We’re not from this universe,” Otto says loudly, and both Geoff and Awsten grab at him. But they can’t take back the words now. All they can do is try to explain and hope Jawn won’t think they’re crazy.

~~~

Jawn definitely thinks they’re crazy, but he takes them to the right bus anyway, all the while muttering to himself about being too tired for these tour pranks. When they get on, it’s made pretty damn clear that Otto was telling the truth.

Because this universe’s versions of Awsten, Geoff, and Otto are all sitting or standing inside the bus. Geoff spares a moment to look around at the inside and how full and decorated it is. It’s smaller than their cottage, but it’s full of art that’s so bright and colorful that Geoff stares in awe for a moment.

“Okay, might as well get this out there,” Awsten says. “Hello. We’re magic. Well, more magic than you, anyway. We’re from another universe, which is way better than yours, by the way. And we’re temporarily stuck in your universe because of you,” he concludes, pointing at the other Awsten.

“Me?!” the other Awsten says indignantly. “What did I do?”

“What do you mean magic?” the other Otto says, sounding intrigued.

Awsten takes off his tinted lenses and turns into his will-of-the-wisp form and back. “Magic like that,” he says proudly. 

Everyone in the bus gasps in shock. They all stare at Awsten, as if expecting him to do something else. Geoff sincerely hopes he doesn’t set anything on fire. They don’t need that inside here.

“What can I do?” other Otto says, looking at Otto. 

“Uh,” Otto says. His hand goes to his pocket, and then moves away. “Not in here.”

“What was that?” other Geoff says with an awed smile on his face. “What are you?”

“Hold on, everyone stop,” other Awsten says, standing up and walking right up to Awsten. “My fault? How is this my fault?”

Awsten grabs the other version of himself by the front of his shirt. Someone who Geoff doesn’t know rises up, but wavers at the edge of the crowd inside the bus, looking conflicted.

“You played with magic a couple days ago, didn’t you?” Awsten says in a low voice, his eyes glowing. Other Awsten goes pale. “Made a rather open-ended wish. You should be more careful with how you word your intent next time. Better yet, don’t do it again. After you send us back, anyway.”

“Wait,” other Awsten says, eyes still wide. “I wished for— how did you get here?”

“You wished that you find yourself in a loving, caring, passionate relationship with someone you can trust, and who trusts you.” Awsten says. He lets the other Awsten go and steps backward to stand between Geoff and Otto. “And that magic pulled us, a version of yourself in a loving, caring, passionate—”

“WAIT A SECOND,” other Otto says. “Are you— are we in like… a gay poly love affair?”

“Gay?” Otto repeats, confused.

Other Geoff covers his face with his hands. 

“We’re not the same,” Geoff says, going over to the other version of himself. “It’s… different worlds, different circumstances. I don’t really understand it, but we’re different people. Or different versions of the same person, across different— yeah, I don’t really understand.”

“You don’t have to know anything about us,” Awsten says.

Other Awsten glares at him. “Yeah? Just a second ago you were bragging about—”

“Jesus, Awsten, both of you, can you just...” Jawn— other Jawn— interrupts. “Okay, somehow you guys are stuck here. And you want to get back to your world, right?”

“Yes,” all three of them say at once. 

“No offense to your universe,” Otto says. “But, uh, there’s not a lot of trees and the air is terrible.”

“That’s not our fault,” other Awsten says. “Capitalism is—”

“I like the music you make though.” Otto adds. “And the other music here.”

“Yeah?” other Awsten says, right as other Otto says, “Fuck yeah, you do. At least one thing we have in common.”

“The magic you did,” Awsten says, commanding everyone’s attention again. “You have to do that again and— actually, just start it and let me take over. Otherwise you might summon some other version of us to this terrible universe of yours.”

“It’s not that bad here!” other Awsten protests, even as he walks away to get the magic items. “I’m in an awesome band, and— okay we’re not rich yet, but we’re doing really good! We’re getting big and we’ve sold out of some of our merch already! And I’ve got my own corporate sponsor!” 

“That means nothing to me,” Awsten says drily. “I’m more powerful than you’ll ever be.”

“Come back in five years and see if that’s still true,” other Awsten says. He and comes back with the strangest collection of magic items Geoff has ever seen. He assumes this is how magic works in this universe, but the glass vial and candle and cloth bag have a weird energy Geoff’s never felt before. He shivers and looks at Otto, who has a similar reaction to the magic.

“I’d rather stay in my universe, with my Otto and Geoff,” Awsten says. “Okay, how did you start this?”

Geoff’s heart soars at Awsten’s words, and it’s kind of funny seeing the other Otto and Geoff make faces. He reminds himself, it’s most likely because they’re happy with other people. 

“I just can’t believe there’s a universe I’m in a relationship with Awsten,” other Otto says.

“I’m nice!” both Awstens yell. 

“Nicer than you, clearly, since I have two lovers,” Awsten says. “And neither of them have been killed by witch-killers.”

“By WHAT?” other Otto says.

“Wait, witches?” other Geoff repeats.

The room suddenly fills with a bright blue-green glow, as well as dozens of tiny fiery magical wisps. The magic items are floating between Awsten and the other version of Awsten. Geoff moves forward and touches Awsten, feeding his own power into the will-of-the-wisp. Otto does the same, and their magic sing in harmony together.

And it makes Geoff think of the way the three other versions of them played music together.

“Focus on the intent of love,” Awsten commands. “Not what you were thinking before, but— not the desire, but the feeling in your soul. The warmth and the power and the peace and the devastation and the possibilities for anything and everything.” He pauses. “Yes. Hold that, don’t think of anything else.”

“I’m—” other Awsten says.

But if he says anything else, Geoff never hears it. Because, with a rushing sound and a sickening feeling of pulling and pressure all at once, he’s stumbling onto the floor of the cottage.

Their cottage.

“Yes!” Otto yells. “We’re back! We’re in our universe again, right?”

“Yes,” Awsten says, starting to pace with blue wisps coming in and out of existence around him. “I took care of it. Much cleaner than how the other Awsten pulled us in.”

Geoff gets up and runs over to throw his arms around Awsten. “Thank you,” he says. Otto too comes to join the embrace. He clung tight to the two of them, so glad to be back where they belong.

~~~

It’s not until late that evening when Awsten suddenly realizes his missed opportunity. “Damn it!” he yells. “I could have banged myself!”

Jawn scoffs. “You wouldn’t. That other Awsten was in a relationship. You wouldn’t do that.”

Awsten crosses his arms and pouts. “No. But. When am I ever going to meet another version of myself like that?”

“You’ll get over it,” Jawn says.


End file.
